This beautiful bamboo Bridge School in Xiashi, China is one of the five winners for the <a href="http://inhabitat.com/2010-winners-of-the-aga-khan-award-for-architecture/" target="_blank">2010 Aga Khan Award for Architecture</a>. The project is located in a rural Chinese village, and it has rejuvenated the entire community by providing a place for children to learn, a means to cross the town's river, and a public gathering space. <a href="http://www.lixiaodong.net/en_home.asp" target="_blank">Li Xiaodong</a> designed and built the little two-room schoolhouse as a multi-purpose facility for the whole village, and it has become the heart of the town.

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Aga Khan Award - Bridge School

Li Xiaodong was asked to design a <a href="http://inhabitat.com/2010-winners-of-the-aga-khan-award-for-architecture/aga-khan-award-bridge-school-1/?extend=1" target="_blank">small school</a> for the village of Xiashi in the Fujian Province, and he had the idea to combine the school with a pedestrian bridge that connected two historic toulou (<a href="http://inhabitat.com/chinese-hakka-houses-form-self-sustaining-communities/">circular castles made from packed dirt</a>).

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Aga Khan Award - Bridge School

A creek runs right through the middle of the village and the toulou serve as important historical landmarks, so it made sense to locate the school at the physical heart of the village.

The school is constructed out of two large steel spans that cross the <a href="http://inhabitat.com/san-diego-bridge-to-unveil-wind-powered-led-light-show/" target="_blank">bridge</a> and smaller steel supports and framing. Local materials and wood were used to create the facade, interior furnishings and school furniture.

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Aga Khan Award - Bridge School

While the steel is very modern, especially in the context of a rural village, the material will last a long time while creating a structurally-sound school.

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Aga Khan Award - Bridge School

The use of local materials helps the building blend texturally and aesthetically with the rest of the village.

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Aga Khan Award - Bridge School

<a href="http://inhabitat.com/space-age-solar-urcomante-house-debuts-at-solar-decathalon-europe/" target="_blank">Louvers</a> and walls can be opened or closed depending on the season or programs taking place within the school. Two classrooms sit on either side of the bridge, and they are separated by a community library.

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Aga Khan Award - Bridge School

Slides and various staircases allow access into the classrooms, and children are loathe to leave school because it is like a playground for them.

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Aga Khan Award - Bridge School

Meanwhile, villagers congregate around the school's courtyards and use the facilities for community activities.

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Aga Khan Award - Bridge School

A walkway suspended by cables underneath the bridge school crosses the creek and is used by everyone when school is not in session.

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Aga Khan Award - Bridge School

The north end of the school can be opened up and used as a stage for performances or other community projects.

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Aga Khan Award - Bridge School

One judge remarked on the project: "When architect Li Xiadong was asked to build a tiny school for a small village crossed by a river, he had the inspiration of placing it on a new bridge, near the
spot where two ancient toulou - traditional fortress-like, circular structures - were erected on either side of the river..."

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Aga Khan Award - Bridge School

"...The very modern structure not only blends successfully into the landscape, it also succeeds in joining the bulky forms of the two historic structures through a linear lightweight sculpture that floats above the river."

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Aga Khan Award - Bridge School

This beautiful bamboo Bridge School in Xiashi, China is one of the five winners for the 2010 Aga Khan Award for Architecture. The project is located in a rural Chinese village, and it has rejuvenated the entire community by providing a place for children to learn, a means to cross the town's river, and a public gathering space. Li Xiaodong designed and built the little two-room schoolhouse as a multi-purpose facility for the whole village, and it has become the heart of the town.